Hi Rinaley, I am happy that you share my conviction that the role of a teacher is to be a good facilitator and enabler of academic conversation and class discussions. Thank you for your comment.

Thank you, Akshay for your comment. I am glad that you find the influences of our (both students and teachers) diverse background an important aspect of learning and in becoming independent thinkers.

Julie, thanks for your comment. I like that you share in the concept that knowledge creation is a binary and iterative process with contributions from both teachers and students.

Thanks for the comment, Antonio. I agree that we cannot overlook the influence of the learning environment in the knowledge creation process. Respect, mutual understanding and acceptance is a prerequisite for learning.

Hi Carter, good to hear from you and thanks for your comment. Indeed, informal learning experiences are important, especially in the arts and humanities. As you noted, I agree that students will be better served if teachers recognize and acknowledge that in the teaching process.

Thank you for your comment. I think being open-minded is critical in the learning process, to both teachers and students.

Hello Medha, your point on “predatory open-access journals” is well noted. I agree with the other comments that most of these publishers are not reputable and are out for the money. Based on my understanding of open access, I am a little cautious about open access journals. I would rather work with the Library to help in the publication process to ensure that your article is published on a reliable platform.

Thanks for sharing. I like how MDPI defines open access “as peer reviewed literature that is freely available without subscription or the barrier of price, is immediately released upon acceptance and the published materials can be used without obtaining permission as long as the work is properly cited.” I was getting a little excited until I got to the end to see that the cost of publishing is 350 Swiss Franc.

I totally agree with your point on assigning a grade without providing feedback is probably not a good practice. I think it is important to let your students understand your goal or expectation when grading. And to help them, address gaps and deficiencies, good feedback is necessary. I have noticed that some instructors will have a one-on-one session with all their students, to discuss class projects and assignments, seek clarifications on assignments and even request rewrites on assignments based on discussions.

Hello Milad – thanks for your comment. As Dr. Nelson noted in class yesterday, establishing ground rules or guidelines for sensitive topics may help make our classrooms “safe zones.”